Mac Motorcycles is entering into the fray as Britain’s latest motorcycle manufacturer. With a cafe-racer/chopper design, Mac is planning to have 4 models: the Spud, Ruby, Peashooter, and Roarer. All four bikes will be lightweight street cruisers, with no plastic, and nothing you don’t need except to just ride for the hell of riding.

Mac has entrusted Xenophya Design, of electric motorcycle concept fame, to produce these minimalist creations, which will be distributed first in the UK, North America, and Japan, with potential expansion into France and Australia. Powering the bikes is a 500cc, 34hp, air-cooled Buell motor, which is situated in a very open frame that arches around the motor in a way that reminds us of the Confederate Wraith. Optional upgrades could boost the bikes’ power up to 50hp.

According to Mac, each model serves its own purpose. The ‘Spud’, for dossing about on, ‘Ruby’, the motorcycle equivalent of ‘the girl-next-door’, ‘Pea Shooter’, for squirting to your favourite pub and gassing with your mates and the ‘Roarer’, a modern-day dinosaur-chaser!

Well take their word for it, but the bikes look pretty much the same to us.

“Between us (Pitt and Xenophya) we’d designed, modified, built and ridden all sorts of motorcycles over the last 30 years and thought it was time to produce a motorcycle that reflected our philosophy. Our influences have been diverse and we’ve made unusual connections between genres of motorcycles such as choppers, Italian singles from the 1950s, flat-trackers and competition specials. What underpins Mac Motorcycles’ philosophy though is the belief that the riding experience and the stories that go with motorcycle journeys seem to have been hijacked by technology and plastic.”

There is certainly something appealing about the design… probably because I am a big Confederate fan. The Blast engine is an interesting design. There are plenty of people drag racing them and getting some power out of them. A cool economical design…

It’s a real shame about Buell dropping production of the Blast as it has meant Mod now have to look to a different manufacturer for their engine. At present they are considering the Yamaha XT 660 motor whish isn’t quite as pretty but the power output is up.